It shouldn’t be understated just how much The Xcerts have riding on ‘Scatterbrain’. Last year’s ‘In The Cold Wind We Smile’ not only secured them as the kings of distorted pop, it impressed legendary Long Island-based knob-twiddler Mike Sapone enough to take them on for the follow up. As the first British band to record under Sapone’s guidance, the orders are certainly tall. The question is: have they been met?
The answer is an emphatic, emboldened and unequivocal YES. ‘Scatterbrain’ is very good. Very bloody good indeed. This record is an incredible achievement for a band so early into their career and it shows a remarkable – albeit thoroughly welcome – change of direction from the debut. This is their ‘Deja Entendu’ and you need to hear it.
At times, ‘Scatterbrain ‘is a chilling journey into the band’s mindset over the last tumultuous twelve months. It shows The Xcerts as a band hardened and wisened on the road, with Sapone capturing the raw emotions perfectly. From the subtleties of ‘Gum’ and ‘He Sinks, He Sleeps’ to the blood-curdling screams that round off ‘Hurt With Me’, everything feels very honest and very open. Musically, it’s far less linear than the debut – there’s a lot more noise and not a ‘wooh wooh’ in sight – but it’s a thousand times more revealing.
Crucially though – and here’s where it really matters – this is still The Xcerts. While it’s no way near as immediate as the debut, they haven’t ‘done a Daisy’ and dropped all ideas of melody and structure. This is in fact a lot more of a pop record than they might realise with ‘Young (Belane)’ and ‘Carnival Time’ packing in bags of radio potential. Essentially, the hooks and the melodies are there, you just need to scratch a little deeper to get to them.
With ‘Scatterbrain’, The Xcerts have outdone themselves. This is a record that bands strive their whole careers to write and they’ve gone and done it on the second attempt. Marvellous.